Ledger



No Model.)

B. H. DOAN. LEDGER, BILL, 0R ACCOUNT FILE.- No. 465,465. Patented Dec. 22; 1891.

Wilnwsea. fill/671107.. g; vmm? m 9 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

ELLIS HUGHES DOAN, OF COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

LEDGER, BILL, OR ACCOUNT FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,465, dated December 22, 1891.

Application filed March 26,1891. Serial No. 386,519- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIS HUGHES DOAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coatesville, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ledger, Bill, or A0- count Files; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The special object of the invention is to make a bill-file which will serve the purpose of a journal or ledger, allowing the transfer of each days purchase on the part of every customer to his individual account as it occurs, or from the blotter or day-book, thus enabling the exact state of each ones account to be inspected in a moment.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective view of my bill-file, which is open at the top and rear; Fig. 2, a central cross-section thereof; Fig. 3, a detail view showing the arrangement of the vowel-cards, which go with each consonant as an index.

In the drawings, A represents my file-box, which has a bottom with the hole a by which it may be drawn out of a case or hung upon a nail or hook.

a a. are parallel sides provided on the inside with a median horizontal rib a and a is the back against which all the papers are clamped or rest when unclamped.

B represents the clamp, which has an open groove or slot bin the middle of each end, the same being intended to fit over the ribs a a and allow the clamps to be moved back as the bulk of papers increases. These grooves a a are sufficiently elongated in a vertical direction to permit the clamp to be turned from a perpendicular back to an inclined or diagonal position, so as to facilitate the examinationof papers without movingthe clamp at the bottom.

On the backof the clamp B, I fasten the median perpendicular clamp-plate O, in the lower end of which is made the vertical slot 0. In this slot and under the lip 0' works the end of a plate-spring D, which is secured under the upper end of plate C bya pin cl. Across at the middle of plate 0, I hinge or pivot the turn-piece E, through the slot 6 of which passes the spring D. The bottom of slot e is made sufficiently far-from the pivot 6, when raised at right angles thereto, to lift the spring so as to bring its foot (1 flush with the bottom of clamp, when the latter may be moved forward or back, which is only necessary when an additional thickness of papers is inserted. When the turn-piece E is thrown to either side of the pivot, the spring,presses with its foot upon the bottom of boxyforces the fiat bottoms of thegrooves bb against the bottom face of the ribs (1, This holds the clamp firmly in place against the contents of the box.

Between the clampB and back (1. I arrange alphabetical cards F, with the index-letters running diagonally across them in the usual and well-known way; but between the consonants or after each one I place vowel-cards, the vowels being placed to the left of the consonant and out of sight until the cards have been opened to that consonant. This facilitates the examination and saves time when there are many names commencing with the same consonant.

My invention is not intended especially as a bill-file, but more especially as a loose-leaf ledger or account file. The mercantile trade will use it as a ledger, while railroad and gas companies, who post all their accounts on bills of uniform size, will use it for filing bills until they are settled, when they'are receipted and given to the persons to whom they belong. Y

Doctors and other professional men will use myinvention as a file for original entries.

By my invention accounts can be quickly referred to and done where nothing but live or active accounts are before a person. An account closed is to be taken out and may be placed in a separate file of closed accounts.

Having thus described all that is necessary to a full understanding of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to protect by Let ters Patent, is

In a ledger, bill, or account file, the clamp- A board having the median vertical plate 0 In testimony whereof I affix my signature in made flast cov its back and provided with the presence of two witnesses.

slot 0, ipc ,and pivoted turn-piece E, in corn- A T bination with the plate-spring D made fast ELLIS HUGHES DOAA' at its upper end, and a file-box constructed Witnesses: with side ribs, substantially as shown and M. W. POWNALL, described. FELIX- ETTINGER. 

